Ljubljana Slovenia

Travelled:132km

Stay:Ljubljana Slovenia - Tivoli gardens paid parking area N46.0597 E14.4975

We drove through some heavy rain as we made our way to the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. Luckily the weather was better here and after parking the motorhome and having a bite of lunch, we headed into the old quarter. The town began with a Roman settlement and is one of Europe’s smallest capital cities. We began our visit in Preseren Square which is named after France Preseren, a Romantic poet whose patriotic verses were central to the development of a Slovene national consciousness. 

The Franciscan Church dominates the square and in the centre there is an unusual water feature. 

The lady on the building, Julija Primic is said to have been Preseren’s inspiration behind many of his poems. 

We then crossed one of the Triple Bridges over Ljubljanica River that connects the main square with the Old Town. The 2 side ones were added as pedestrian bridges back in 1931 as the main bridge was getting too busy.

We walked along the river lined with willow trees and lovely buildings, cafes and restaurants.

The Cobblers Bridge replaced the older ones here which, back in the day, shoemakers had their workshops. We then decided to walk UP to the castle that overlooks the city. Needless to say we did get a great view from up there. During the 15thC The Hapsburg family rebuilt it and in the 19thC it became a prison. 

After a look around we took the funicular back down to the Central Market, which is closed on Sunday. 

Cute water fountain

We continued our stroll through town passing the stone Fountain of Three Carniolan Rivers - Ljubljana, Sava and Krka, which is in front of the Town Hall. 

We rested our legs and sated our thirst at one if the many bars whilst the rain pattered down. 

Then we tried out a local delicacy ‘Prekmurska gibanica’. It is a 7 layered cake with poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, raisins and quark. Not bad!

Feeling fortified we continued on and saw The Butchers Bridge, built in 2010, it was named after the Butcher stalls that where close by in the market. There were some interesting sculptures including funny looking frogs and shellfish.

Finally we came to the Dragon Bridge which has the symbol of Ljubljana, the dragon.

 From here we strolled back on the otherside of the river to Congress Square which has been the venue for many celebrations and protests throughout the years. The rain was threatening, so the boys found a dry spot in a bar to watch the soccer World Cup final between France and Croatia (spoiler alert...France win!)

 The girls made a mad dash back to the motorhomes but we managed to get caught in a downpour. As we were waiting at the lights to cross the road a gentleman kindly offered us an umbrella out of his car window as he was driving by. Wow! We were impressed but kindly refused. It was a quiet end to the night.